ethinyl estradiol

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of ethinyl estradiol

: a very potent synthetic estrogen C₂₀H₂₄O₂ used especially as an oral contraceptive

Recent Examples of ethinyl estradiol from the Web

Taytulla, also called ethinyl estradiol, gained Food and Drug Administration approval in 2013.

— austen hufford, WSJ, "Allergan Recalls Taytulla Birth-Control Packs After Pills Placed Out of Order," 29 May 2018
Tyler’s experiments looked at one type of synthetic estrogen: ethinyl estradiol, or EE2, which is found in oral contraceptives like TriNessa and Seasonique.

— becky little, Smithsonian, "How One Bad Science Headline Can Echo Across the Internet," 31 July 2017
One environmental estrogen is ethinyl estradiol—a chemical found in birth control pills.

— National Geographic, "Why Are These Male Fish Growing Eggs?," 3 Feb. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ethinyl estradiol.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of ethinyl estradiol

1938

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

ethinyl estradiol

noun

variants: or ethynylestradiol play \ˌeth-ə-nil-ˌes-trə-ˈdī-ˌȯl, -ˌōl\ or chiefly British ethinyloestradiol or ethynyloestradiol play \ˌeth-ə-nil-ˌē-strə-ˈdī-ˌȯl, -ē-ˈstrad-ē-ˌȯl, -ˌōl\

medical Definition of ethinyl estradiol

: a white crystalline very potent synthetic estrogen C₂₀H₂₄O₂ prepared from estrone and used in combination (as with norgestrel or norethindrone) as a birth control pill or alone in the treatment of menopausal symptoms or female hypogonadism or in the palliative treatment of prostate or breast cancer — see loestrin, minastrin, nuvaring, ortho evra, ortho-novum, ortho tri-cyclen, seasonale, seasonique, yasmin, yaz